This year, thousands of players will sell action on PokerStake and buy action on the site too. Navigating the value on offer starts with choosing your champion. Maybe it’s that player whose style you identify with your own. Perhaps its putting your faith in a poker hero you’re looked up to for years like Daniel Negreanu or Erik Seidel. Possibly, you like to punt on a first-time player, an outside bet you have researched and believe is about to strike it big in the game.

Whoever you invest your stake in, you definitely need to know about markup. That’s the added percentage on top of the amount your buy in your poker player. It can range from 1.00 (no markup at all) up to anything, but typically doesn’t go above 1.50. To learn about markup more, we spoke to the super-experienced poker professional and PokerStake seller David ‘ODB’ Baker.

We think you’ll love to learn what he has to say about a key component of staking in poker.

The Convenience of PokerStake

When we talk to David, it’s on the back of one of his most successful series in recent years, the PokerGO Tour Last Chance series. Two runner-up finishes from two of the $10,000-entry events yielded returns of $384,400, an incredible return on $20,000 investment in those events.

Having cashed for over $9 million in his live tournament career, David knows all about the vagaries of the game and how to appropriate markup to selling action. He also advocates for selling on PokerStake ahead of private backing and selling pieces externally.

“I like how easy it is,” says David. “Josh Arieh has made it extremely easy for everybody, and me!. When you’re selling to individuals, they want hand updates and you have a spot  of accountability where you have to post everything. You can post on PokerStake and don’t have to post anything else.”

David is planning on playing the first two PokerGO series of 2026, the PGT Kickoff and PGT Mixed Games Series. He says that knowing that people have invested in you and are happy to then simply watch the results comes in is freeing as a seller.

“[Investors] just care if they win or lose.” David says. “You don’t need to justify every play. They trust that I’m going to make the best plays. It’s super convenient too when I want to pay out, I have multiple options, I can do it through the website, through Josh. I deposit the money onto the website and they pay everybody out for me. It’s the same collecting money from the account from the buyers, it’s right there and I can withdraw it.”

Pricing Markup

When selling action on PokerStake, sellers like David have the option to price up their action any way they like. In terms of the Last Chance series, David sold at no markup at all, which given his return, felt like amazing value for buyers.

“You can charge a markup or not charge a markup, it’s up to you,” says David. “Typically, I charge a small markup but to the Last Chance series, I didn’t feel I was confident in my ability enough to justify a markup, so I didn’t.”

David tells us that while each player who sells their action on PokerStake should consider markup and how to price it, he thinks about a little differently.

“I believe people under-markup some events and over-markup others,” he says. “I felt like this one with the fields I was in made it justified as a no markup. There are other events where the markup I think I’m worth an amount people would laugh at but I’m very honest with myself.”

How Size and Quality Relate to Markup

David outlines that not only is it about field size but also regarding game selection. In mixed game events, for example, David is one of the most experienced players in the world. David admits that he ‘might be delusional’, but believes in where he sees an advantage for himself over others.

“Everyone wants to pigeonhole into 1.1 or 1.2,” David says. “I don’t think its like that at all. I think there are several events where I’m probably neutral EV and not worth markup and there are a lot of them where I’m closer to 1.5 or even higher. A lot of pros would say that’s ridiculous on both ends but my results and my experience over the last 25 years in this business lead me to think otherwise.”

Just as with anyone else who either buys or sells on PokerStake, that decision is always down to him and no-one else. It’s one of the aspects of the website which appeals to him.

“I can do what I want on PokerStake and post what I think I deserve. Based on the fact that I do both low markup and higher people can’t think I’m trying to hustle anyone.”

Backing a player on PokerStake couldn’t be easier. You can head here to our official staking page to find the latest players who have signed up to the site and the upcoming events and festivals where action is on offer. Aa David describes, the choice really is up to you.

“There’ll be times where I’m undervalued or overvalued to you. You can just select the under.”

David Baker will be back in action during this week’s PGT Kickoff series. If you missed his action in the Last Chance festival, then maybe you should give him your backing this week on PokerStake.